North Carolina withstood a late charge from Clemson and took down the Tigers 79-77 at Littlejohn Coliseum, Tuesday. Forward P.J. Hall scored 17 of his 24 points in the second half to help Clemson take a late lead, but the Tar Heels hit their seven of their last nine shots including Brady Manek’s game-winner with just 3.1 seconds left. Brad Brownell drew up a play to give the Tigers one last look but David Collins’ 3-pointer came up short.
After a slow start offensively, Clemson (12-11, 4-8) shot a scorching 56% in the second half and hit 17 of 19 from the foul line. But the Tigers couldn’t slow down the Tar Heels. UNC connected on 61% of its shots in the second half, including five of 12 from behind the arc. Armando Bacot spearheaded North Carolina’s attack, tying Hall with a game-high 24 points on 8 of 10 shooting before fouling out. In all, the back-and-forth affair featured 11 lead changes and ten ties before Manek’s layup put the Heels ahead for good.
Clemson has lost three of four since routing Pitt 75-48 on Jan. 22nd. The Tigers will next play host to Duke Thursday at 8 p.m.
Brad Brownell postgame press conference
